Hunger Games  The Capitol Games
by Maddie Lemerle
Summary: It's been years since the idea of a Hunger Games for the Capitol children was dismissed after long debates; but due to a recent rebellion from the Capitol people, now divided into twelve districts, the idea is awakened. And so it was decreed.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_Hazel Snow_

When dawn breaks, the house floods with light, awakening me. I groan and yawn, glancing up at the tiny window on our small home.

Sure enough, sunlight filters through the dirty panes. A crack ones through one, telling of its age while cobwebs and a gray film encrust another one. The whole house is dirty. It'd been that way since Basil and Angelica have taken us in.

I still remember the day my parents died. It had only been a year ago and we were all sick, that is, our whole family except for Acacia. Because of that, my memories are groggy, but the memory is still accurately in my mind.

The thought of my mother and father dying made a sharp pain in my chest awaken; causing me to groan again but I brushed it away. Today was no day for lying in bed and facing my pain. Today was the day when the Rebels were coming. I guess you could call them the Capitol now. Ever since that Katniss Everdeen had taken over with Peeta Mellark, things had changed. Us "Capitol people" had been thrown out into the districts and everything had reversed. The once rebels were now the Capitol and us Capitol people were thrown into the districts.

People who were hugely involved in the Hunger Games were given the poorest district, 12. Others who were just Capitol people were forced into better districts, although none of them matched the Capitol itself.

I have to admit, they did what was right in their view, but for the people like me, the innocent youth, we suffered the worst. My grandfather is President Snow, and my grandmother was a young woman tricked. The child she conceived was my mother who then married a Capitol official. My parents were good people. All along they'd tried against Snow and disagreed with what the Capitol people had done. They should have been killed but Snow spared my mother and our family, taking pity on his accidental daughter.

Of course the rebels didn't believe us. We were thrown into this district years ago. Life was harsh, leading to a series of events prior to my parents' death. We were left to my father's sister, Angelica, and her husband, Basil.

They were pretty much the only relatives we had anyway. I had been fourteen at the time and Acacia eleven. Verbena who we called "Ben" for short had been two then and terribly ill. I had caught it after long nights staying up, taking care of my little brother and soon we were all bedridden. For some unexplained reason, Acacia did not become ill. She stayed up twenty hours a day, helping us through. I don't know how such a young child managed to do that but when I had recovered, she slept for three days straight.

Soon after that, my parents had died which is another story I won't get into. Ben was now healthy but we had to move in with Angelica and Basil. Not that I regretted it. At that point I was just glad I didn't have to take care of my siblings although I know that's selfish. Ben catching a fever soon after my parents' death had caused him to come close to death. Dark circles and bags had formed under Acacia and my eyes as we kept him hanging on the edge to life.

Angelica and Basil weren't bad people, but we just didn't want to extend their hospitality by asking them to take care of Ben for the night part of the week. When Dill finally recovered from his second illness, we'd thought everything had gone back to normal. Unfortunately, we were far from it. Just two weeks after, the rebels had arrived in their vehicles and demanded we participate in the "Capitol games", their version of the Hunger Games for us former capitol members.

Alas, I had been ready to kill myself at that point, but for the sake of Acacia and Ben, I kept myself alive. The only thing that had brought me small portions of an emotion still far from happiness was seeing my two best friends, Jasmine and Dill.

As I lay in my bed, I roll over and then sigh. I'd have to go at some point. Better now then later. The rebels would come to check our houses at noon and count us and then at three in the afternoon, we'd have to go to the reaping. Everything was designed to work as before so that we could get a taste of what they had to go through.

I let my feet slip down to the hard floor. My blistered feet tense as I feel the harsh wood touch the blisters on the soles of my feet. At one point last month we couldn't afford for me to get new shoes and I had to walk around barefoot for weeks, producing red and scarred feet. I guess they would do me well. My feet had hardened and become tough so if a similar situation happened again they would be able to withstand the pain and would be less likely to split, but a few red marks still remained to remind me of the painful weeks I had to bear.

Creeping quietly on the floors, I make my way outside of the house to a small hole where I relief myself. A quick rinse of my hands from the outside tap and a rub with the bar of animal fat soap cleans my hands. There's a small purple cube of sweet smelling stuff that I sweep off a ledge next to the door. It's a special soap; in fact it's soap that Jasmine had given to me for my birthday.

I head down to a stream where I quickly strip and plop into the freezing water, my skin tensing and then erupting into goose bumps as the water gives me a shock. I'd sort of gotten used to the coldness but it never ceases to surprise me how cold the water is. After dunking myself underwater, I slurp up some of the water into my mouth and begin to bathe, using the cube of soap. It's one of my most treasured possessions, not only because soap is rare these days, but because Jasmine gave it to me.

Within a few minutes, I finish bathing and wrap myself in a towel. It's hardly considered a towel since it's been rubbed thin and there's a hole on one side. Luckily it's long so I can wrap myself up in it and still not be seen by any people passing by our house.

With the soap clutched in my hand, I make the minute-long journey back to our home. About half way through, a voice causes me to jump.

"Hazel."

I turn around at the sound, trying to figure out where it came from.

"Hazy…"

This time I recognize it.

"Dill!" I cry.

"Aha!" Dill steps out from behind the trees in cargo pants and a thin tee shirt. His feet are enclosed in hard leather boots and his blonde hair is ragged as usual, showing signs of the blade, which he uses to cut his hair. Today his hair sticks up, revealing the brown roots of his hair.

I turn slightly red for two reasons, one I've had a crush on him since I was seven when we'd met and two I'm wrapped only in a towel.

"I…err," Dill seems to notice it too.

"Is it urgent? Why don't I go change first," I say.

"Yeah, I mean no, it isn't urgent, you can change first," Dill says, blushing.

I nod and walk quickly towards the house. I can hear his footsteps behind me, telling me that he's following. The sound of a dog barking catches my attention though.

As my head tilts and I turn around to see where he'd gone to, I stumble over a rock, causing me to fall and sprawl out on the ground.

With a quick gasp, I leap to my feet and quickly wrap the towel back around me and glance around, hoping Dill hadn't seen. That's when I realize that Dill isn't there.

"Dill?" I call.

"Hazy," A distant voice tells me he's close.

"Where did you go?" I ask, confused.

"There's a dog here. Something happened to him. I'm fine, I'll take care of him, you go change and bring a damp towel back out with you." Dill's reassuring voice tells me the situation is under control.

"Okay," I say and step forward, crossing a stone path to where my home is. I fumble with the door and then open it, quickly stepping into a corner and changing.

I glance around the small house. Angelica is sitting quietly in a corner, with a raised eyebrow at me.

"Dill," I explain.

"I know," she smiles sweetly and returns back to the pot that she's stirring.

When I finish changing, I check on Acacia who is still sleeping peacefully on her bed. Our beds are pretty simple, really. A few poles that are rooted into circular holes in the floorboards have layers of old sheet tied to them, which we sleep in. It's sort of like a hammock except different. I'm still grateful I have that to sleep in instead of a hard tree.

Sighing contently in her sleep, Acacia rolls over in her bed. I decide that the house is good for now and step out of the wooden home, nodding at Angelica. Basil is gone off to work. He secretly hunts during the weekdays and on the weekends sells the loot. Of course he brings things home at night for us to eat but I've never had a full stomach.

I use a leather string to tie my long layered choppy hair into a loose ponytail and head over to the spot Dill had told me to go to, clutching a wet cloth that I'd grabbed on the way.

"Thanks," is all Dill says when I get to him. He takes the cloth and presses it to a wound on the hind leg of a dog. The dog is so dirty and matted that I can't see what color it is.

"Here." I know Dill is passionate about animals so I gently take the dogs head and chest up into my arms after letting it sniff me.

Dill must have known I'd do that because he already has her legs lifted up in his strong arms, cradling them gently.

Together we walk the dog to his home where we find Jasmine waiting, hand in hand with her little sister Issie. They both have the same crystal blue eyes and light skin, but Jasmine has dark wavy hair that reaches her waist and Issie has light blonde curls that fringe her neck.

"Hey Jazzy! Hey Issie!" I call. "Come help me open the door."

I've known Dill and Jazzy forever and their homes have become my second home up to an extent where I walk in and call their parents "mom" and "dad".

Issie does exactly what I ask her to and Jazzy rushes up, putting a hand under the abdomen of the dog, which is taut in-between Dill and my grasp.

When we enter Dill's house, a sweet flowery scent lingers in the air and causes me to smile as I always do when entering his house.

Dill's father is a merchant and his mother stays at home, stitching cloth to sell. In hard times their family helps ours and ours helps theirs although most of the time it's their family providing small things that keep us alive.

I'm forever in their debt. Everything they've done for our family is out of pure kindness and generosity. For that reason, I've sworn myself to repay them some time when I grow up and get a job. But for now, at the age of 15, I have to face life as it is.

When we lay down the dog, it squirms but its in too much pain to bite or try to get away. Dill lays his hands gently on its head, shielding its eyes from what we are about to do and it seems to have a calming effect on the dog. She settles down more willingly and falls asleep in exhaustion.

Dill takes his hands off her head and tells Issie to come over.

"She was caught in a trap. I don't know why but they must be trying to get rid of the stray animals," Dill grits his teeth. "Issie, cover her eyes so if she wakes up she can't see anything," Dill instructs as he takes a piece of rope and ties it securely around the dog's muzzle so she can't bite while we fix her up.

Dill performs his magic quickly. His hands flow rhythmically with the razor as he shaves through her mats and tangles, sending clumps of filthy fur to the ground. After watching him for a while, Jazzy and I begin to gather the fur and throw it out the window. When we return, the dog's fur ahs been shaved down, revealing some nasty unmentionables.

I use my bare hands and pluck insects and pests from the dog's short coat and flick them out the open window just a foot away from me. Jazzy uses a clean side of the cloth and wipes the dog's wounds clean with a surgery disinfectant while Dill prepares a sharp needle and precious suture thread.

I watch intently while his hands flow across the dog's skin, stitching up her wounds carefully so there are thin black lines replacing the large red and black wounds that used to be there. Sometimes I wonder why Dill bothers to waste his medical supplies on animals but then again, he's an animal lover and is always getting new medical supplies.

Dill's mother used to be a nurse and so he can easily get him new medical things. She taught him her ways and he had learned. Now, as I observed him fix the dog up, I was once again amazed at his skill. When he'd finished, he declared we eat lunch and it was only then did I realize it was already 11:00am.

The dog had obviously woken up halfway through but now she was sleeping peacefully. We helped clean up our mess and set the dog down on a cloth in the corner and sat down to our meal.

"The food was very delicious," I smile at Heather Kathreene.

"You're very welcome," the woman smiles, the wrinkles next to her eyes creasing as she takes our plates and sets them down in the sink with a clunk.

Dill's house is nicer then ours that's for sure but compared to the wealthiest in our district who when compared to the other districts are only so-so its not that nice. Just goes to show how poor we are.

We leave the dog sleeping in the house and decide to sneak out into the woods. Issie goes back home and it's just Jazzy, Dill and I. Dill's handy with the bow and arrow, Jazzy has her daggers, and I use a crossbow.

As we cross the electric fence that isn't so electric anymore, I wonder if the rebels snuck out here when they were forced to live in this district. Thoughts of what could have happened to them while we lived in the Capitol interest me although I know myself that we didn't deserve this. The people before us deserved it. But the rebels are determined to make us pay. And we were about to find out just how this afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_Hazel Snow_

The square bustles with people like a hive full of bees.

Everyone is eager to get a good view of the stage which holds Capitol people, our district's peacekeepers, and Katniss Everdeen herself. The woman who had changed the course of Panem seems surprisingly calm, much to my surprise.

"There's Mellark," I hear Issie hiss to her.

I nod, watching the blonde as he makes his way over to Everdeen.

"Wonder where their kids are," This time it's Jazzy who speaks.

"Well, they probably didn't want them to come along. Think of it in their perspective. What's to stop us from leaping up and killing them?" I say quietly, lost in my own thoughts and staring entently at the stage.

"Yeah…," Dill seems to notice that I'm elsewhere. He followed my gaze to one side of the stage and cleared his throat.

"You see it too?" I murmur, suddenly aware of how many people are pushing against us.

"Yeah," Dill mutters.

I let out a groan under my breath. Sure enough, I am right. There comes the tapping of a microphone and a "test, test". Before we know it, a woman dressed in black pants and a fitted jacket is walking up.

"Greetings, people of District 12," she smiles coldly.

Murmurs of disapproval echoes throughout us.

Jazzy narrows her eyes and Issie grabs my hand. I squeeze her small fingers quickly and scan the crowd, wondering where Ben and Acacia were.

Angelica and Basil had told me I could go off with my friends and they'd take care of the two. Trying not to worry too much, I wonder where they are. They'd said they'd find me when they got there but now as I searched the crowd for familiar faces, I doubted they'd ever find me in this sea of mayhem.

"I'm sure many of you are wondering what this sudden meeting is all about," the woman declares.

A collective nod races through out the crowd quickly.

"Well, I will let Ms. Katniss Everdeen of former District 12 explain," the woman smiles curtly and exits the stage.

My fists tighten and poor Issie lets out a squeal. I murmur an apology but that doesn't stop the hairs on my neck from rising. We kids and teens don't deserve what I'm pretty sure they are going to do or say next.

"Guess she kept her maiden name," I barely hear Dill say. Before I can respond, though, there is a banging sound from the stage and a yell, and then everything goes quiet.

Everdeen walks up onto the stage, dressed in simple yet stylish clothes. Mellark flanks her, looking smart in his business clothes.

Everdeen taps the microphone quickly and then begins.

"Hello."

I can feel the people around me begin to roll their eyes.

"Hello, people of District 12. You all know me as your enemy, the Mockingjay. I was the one who turned things around for us. Things have changed though, and we have passed a new law. This is a law that will change your view of the world; a law that will give you a taste of your own medicine. The idea was debated a long time ago and it was brought up many times. We decided yes on some occasions and on others, no. But today, a final decision has been made. We have decided to re-introduce the Hunger Games. This will be a game that the Capitol people will have to play." Everdeen's expression remains blank but I can see Mellark wincing slightly. I don't blame him. The whole idea is revolting and I'm not surprised. I knew it was coming at some point.

"What?" Jazzy is the first in the crowd to scream. "NO!" She begins pushing through the crowd.

It takes a few seconds before the whole crowd can process it. Then come outcries and yells of protest. Everyone's moving towards the stage, fists clenched, jaws shaking with anger, and foul words coming from their mouth. The people standing closest to the stage have to be restrained by peacekeepers because some of the bravest are attempting to climb it so as to get at Everdeen and Mellark.

I exchange a grim look with Dill. We had both been right. Exactly as predicted, two people walked in with bowls of slips. Except they weren't white slips like my parents had told me about. This time the slips were wrinkled and red. Then I realized what had happened to them. They'd been dipped in blood.

The crowd calms down and turns their attention to the bowls. The eldest can remember what happened in the Hunger Games and the rest of us have heard stories. Only a few are unsuspecting.

"Ew…," Jazzy soon realizes what it is. "They're dipped in blood."

"Yes. And our names are in there nine times. Issie's is only in there once. Acacia…Hers is in there once too." I stare straight forward, my eyes blazing. What if my sister gets picked? Or Issie? She's just as much as my sister as Acacia is. What if Dill _and_ one of us get picked? One of us would have to die… I shake my head furiously.

"Why?" I suddenly yell. My voice echoes throughout the square and to my great surprise, it sounds clear and confident. Crisp even.

"Why are you doing this to us? Most of us weren't part of the games. The only ones that had anything to do with the games are the elderly. Even they would rather die a quick death then starve here in this dump!"

To my surprise, peacekeepers stay where they are and don't run up to me with machine guns, hammering me down with bullets.

Everdeen turns to face me. "Because. Because your ancestors are the ones that started this all. We plan to take it out on the ones they left behind before dying."

"That's unfair! What did we ever do to you?" I scream, feeling my face turn red with anger.

"Everything." Everdeen replies smoothly. I know what she's gone through and I don't support my ancestors for what they did but this? This was unbelievable.

"Draw." Mellark speaks for the first time.

Everdeen keeps her eyes on me but before she walks quietly to the girls' bowl, I see her mouth, "Snow," to me. She knows, I think to myself. She knows that Snow's my grandfather. She's going to make it harder for me.

For all I know all the slips in the bowl have my name on them. With the rebels, they'll do anything to get back at anyone related to Snow. That's why they did what they did to my parents.

"For the girls…," Everdeen says cooly and reaches into the bowl.

Up until now, the crowd had been silent, observing my little conversation with Everdeen. Now they all held their breath. I swear, you could hear a pin drop.

I grab Issie's hand even tighter and glance from Dill to Jazzy and then back to Dill.

Everdeen takes the slip carefully and unfolds it quietly and ever so slowly as if she's enjoying us suffer. We're all in pain, wondering who it is going to be.

When the slip is finally unfolded, Everdeen smiles and says, "Perfect. Just perfect."

My forehead furrows. 'Who is it?' I'm dying to scream out loud.

"For the girl tribute, we have…"

The crowd gasps once again.

The silence never ends. Or at least so it seems. Suddenly the crowd is gasping and Angelica who must have spotted me when I was speaking to Everdeen could be seen, pushing through the crowd. Basil is right behind her with Ben in his hands and Acacia tagging after them.

"Who is it?" My voice fills with worry.

"Didn't you hear?" Dill asks, frowning and looking at me like he'd just seen a ghost.

"No. Is it Acacia?" I suddenly ask, my eyes darting frantically.

"No! Did you really not hear?" Jazzy asks.

"Issie? You? Dill?" I cry, realizing the crowd is now staring at me.

"No," Dill says slowly. Then he reaches a gentle hand up to my cheek and brushes away a tear. I hadn't even realized that I'd begin crying when I started panicking.

"It's worse than that.

"It's you." Dill murmurs.

Chapter Three

_Hazel Snow_

Everything happens too quickly.

The surprise of the situation we are in because of the new Capitol Games. And now I'm the female tribute for District 12.

My face floods with relief at first when I realize it isn't any of my siblings but then I realize it isn't any of my friends either. It's me. Realization strikes me. I was good as sentenced to death.

The crowd parts for me and I walk through it slowly, flanked my peacekeepers. I can hear Dill attempting to calm Jazzy and Issie who are panicking. I'd never thought of Jazzy as the type to panic but then again, she was different from me and Dill.

Angelica and Basil are calming Acacia who is screaming her head off. She keeps on yelling that she volunteers but the peacekeepers have their doubts. They know either way I'll end up as the female tribute. Ben has started to cry and it's all I can do to stop myself from bawling as he is.

"Who's going to take care of them?" I whisper to myself. Up to now, they'd always relied on me and my hunting. The fact that they had to care for themselves now hurt. Basil could sell his stuff in the market but it was never enough. His injured leg always stopped him from full labor, resulting in him taking on the career of selling.

By now I'm up to the stage already. I climb the stairs, my knees feeling like jelly. The adrenalin rush has made my head begin to pound and my stomach has butterflies. Even my heart rate has increased and my chest is thudding, trying to contain it as it tries to soar straight out of me in fear.

"And for our male tribute," Everdeen steps back and lets Mellark walk up slowly.

Mellark reaches into the bowl and slowly unfolds a slip.

"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Hazel Snow_

Everything happens too quickly.

The surprise of the situation we are in because of the new Capitol Games. And now I'm the female tribute for District 12.

My face floods with relief at first when I realize it isn't any of my siblings but then I realize it isn't any of my friends either. It's me. Realization strikes me. I was good as sentenced to death.

The crowd parts for me and I walk through it slowly, flanked my peacekeepers. I can hear Dill attempting to calm Jazzy and Issie who are panicking. I'd never thought of Jazzy as the type to panic but then again, she was different from me and Dill.

Angelica and Basil are calming Acacia who is screaming her head off. She keeps on yelling that she volunteers but the peacekeepers have their doubts. They know either way I'll end up as the female tribute. Ben has started to cry and it's all I can do to stop myself from bawling as he is.

"Who's going to take care of them?" I whisper to myself. Up to now, they'd always relied on me and my hunting. The fact that they had to care for themselves now hurt. Basil could sell his stuff in the market but it was never enough. His injured leg always stopped him from full labor, resulting in him taking on the career of selling.

By now I'm up to the stage already. I climb the stairs, my knees feeling like jelly. The adrenalin rush has made my head begin to pound and my stomach has butterflies. Even my heart rate has increased and my chest is thudding, trying to contain it as it tries to soar straight out of me in fear.

"And for our male tribute," Everdeen steps back and lets Mellark walk up slowly.

Mellark reaches into the bowl and slowly unfolds a slip.

"Agrimony Fern."

It's a name I've never heard before. I watch from where I am as a young boy, his face creased with fear is forced up onto the stage.

Inside, I'm flooding with relief that it's not Dill, the one I've fancied since I was young. I breathe a sigh of relief and I watch Dill who comforts Issie and Jazzy who clearly are relieved too.

I notice Mellark's expression. Pained, as if remembering his time as a tribute. I don't understand how they can do this. The people that actually belonged to the Capitol and the making of the Hunger Games are long gone. Most have died. So why us?

"Hi," I murmur softly as the boy reddens.

"Hello," He responds quietly and I can see his eyes pool up.

The crowd is staring at his family who are weeping as they watch their little boy take his place.

My expression remains blank. How could they do this to us? I ask myself over and over again. I'm just an innocent teenager and Agrimony Fern is a little pint sized twelve-year-old excuse for a boy. He's scrawny and has dirty blonde hair. His eyes are hollow and have mousy brown colored eyeballs that fill his deeps sockets, which are lined, by dark circles. His nose is long and thin and so are his lips. He has crooked yellow teeth and for some reason, I find him ugly.

I guess I'm a mean person.

The little boy just stands there, tears flowing down his cheeks, which are flushed, red with fear. His hair is practically white from fright and his bony hands reach for mine.

I take them and squeeze them. Although he's a pitiful sight, I can't help but feel sorry for him. He reminds me of Issie and Ben combined except not as good looking.

With a sigh, I close my eyes, desperately grasping onto the last memories of my parents as reality suddenly hits me like a lightning bolt striking from above.

I was going into a death arena with 22 other teens and a little boy who made my heart flutter not because he was a hottie or anything but because he was so innocent. We'd enter the arena. And only one of us would return home.


End file.
